Coin or slug actuated signaling device



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Nov. 3,1925. 1,560,385

J. LANG ET AL GOIN OR SLUG ACTUATED SIGNALING DEVICE Filed June zo.1 1924 2" shgets-sneet 2 Patented Nov. 3, 1925.

UNITED sT-Ayr Es -PATENro1=Eicl-:.

JoHN LANG, oF CHICAGO, ANDLFBANK s.V PILAnsKI, or creano, ILLINOIS@ G01N on SLUG Acrun'rnn SIGNALING DEVICE.

'Appnbation filed vmi@ 30,1924. serial Ne,` 723,288.

i To all whom 'it may concern.'

`Be it known that we, JOHN LANG` and FRANK S. PILARSKI, citizens ofthe United States, and residents ofChicagoand Cicero, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, respectively, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Coinor Slug Actuated Signaling Devices, ofwhich the following is a specification. Y v- The invention relates to improvements yin telephone attachments in which coins or slugs are used for signaling the central telephone operator. Such devices as now constructed do not give the owner or party responsible i for the telephone complete control over what the user may insert for the purpose.

of signaling the operatorand as a result spurious coins or slugs are frequently `inserted for the purpose of using thephone without properly compensating the responsible party. The common device of' providing a slot witha projecting tip for the re- These objects are attained bythe mecha-` ception `of slugs `with c complementary grooves is easily defeated by forcing the tip out of the path of the spurious slug. rlhe effectiveness of such a device is further limited by the fact that the space 4on ,the slug for such grooves is limited and as a result therev must be a substantialsimilarity in some of them. This makes it Vpossible that slugsintended for other phones may be successfully used.

The primary object of the invention is to provide in a device of the class described means whereby the owner, or theparty responsible for the telephone, has absolute control of the coins or slugs ywhich'inay be used to signal the telephone operator.

Another object is to provide in a telephone attachment, means which `makes impossible the usel of any other than the slugs or coins provided by the owner or lessee of the telephone for the purpose described.

Another object is to generally .improve signaling attachments for telephones and similar devices which are operableby the insertion of aslug or coin. f i

`A furtherobject is' to provide animproved gmethod of` control `of coinv or slug actuated signaling devices. f f

Other further and more specific objects will become apparent as the specification proceeds.

nism illustrated in the accompanying draw- `ings, in which, i Y

Fig. 1 is afront' elevational viewof the device;A 1 .y Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational View showing .the preferredembodiment of the invention; f Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along `the line'3-/3 of Fig. 2;.` y

Fig. l is a detail view along the line 4-'4 `of Fig. 2; A N

Fig. 5 is a detail View of a coin or slug box forming part of thev device;`

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevational view showing vention;. p i

Fig. 7 is a sectional View alongthe line 7-7 of` Fig. 6;

an alternative embodiment of `the` in- Y Fig. 8 is a detail view ofa plungershaft forming a part of the alternative embodiment` of the invention; l i

Fig. 9 is a View taken in the direction of the arrows along the line 9-9 of Fig. 6;

. Fig. 10 is a view taken in theopposite direction of the arrows along'the line 95-9 'of y Fig. 6, and, 'p s Fig. 11 is a detail along the line 11-11 of Fig. 6.. i f

Similar numerals refer to throughout the views.

The invention resides in the provision ,of both-a supply compartment anda receiving receptacle for coins and slugs, mechanism inaccessible yto the user 'of the telephone which is operable by the owner to feed the coins and slugs `contained `in the supply compartment into I,the receiving compartment, and means accessible to the user of `the telephone, adapted to feed thecoins and u slugs so fed into the receiving compartment on into the signaling device of the telephone.

The plate or-back wall 15 and the housing 16 form an enclosure and mounting for the similar parts v various parts of the device. vThe housing i 16 is mounted on the platel by a` luralit, of vinturned lips 17 p y which are fastened to ythe .plateby the screws` 18. HA hinged door l19m'akes the interior of the housing accessible and v`is provided with a lock 20 to pre- Avent accessby unauthorized persons. The

`1t impossible to remove from the plate when the door is inturned lips `make the housing locked.

n Thehousing 1.6 is shown mounted upon 16 and the plate 15 down into the-.telephoneA housing 2.1;: A, @einY traveling deuil. the. ma.

duit 23 into the telephone housing 21 ac tuates the usual central operating signaling-y device. A view of the signaling device is omitted as unnecessarytov the p-roper disclosure of the invention. l

lA tube y24y provides a supply compartment for coins or slugs.

adapted for a tight fit over a short tube 25 which is mountedon. a supporting member 26. The upper end; of thetube is held in position by a resilient clamp member 27 which partially encircles the tube and permits its easy removal for loading when the door 19 is opened.

A tube 28 is also mounted in the member 26 adjacent to: the tube 25 and extends downwardly therefrom toprovide a receiving compartment for coinsfand slugs whichy arev fed therein from the tube 25, as hereinafter more particularly described. The member 26 is mounted upon the plate 15 by screws 29 and provides a` passage 3,()Y for coins and slugs from'the vtube 25 'to the ytube *28, the adjacent walls ofthe tubes being slotted for that purpose, as best. shown in Figs. a 9. and `10.;

Arecess 31 1 the'member'26'; immediate- 'ly under the tubes 24 and y2,5, rovides a runway' for a reciprocating p unger .'32.

The plunger is positioned to engage the bottom coin'contained in the tube 2,5. Movement. of the plunger 32 to the right, as

viewed in Fig. 2, forces the coin with which i it engages, through the passage 30, out of :flowing: coin`v whichv has moved by the tube 25, and into the receiving tube 28.

Uponv completion ofeach'return stroke, the plunger 32 is in position to engage the folgravity y'into the pat-h of the'plunger and v`by repeated reciprocations, it successivelyfeeds "coins from the supplyvtube 25 into the receiving tube 28.

` pinion which is actuated by a solenoid 33. The plunger is pivotally mounted-upon the The plunger 32 is operated by a rack and outer end'of a bar 34 by means of vafpin 3,5,

e the same.

lwhich extends through tongue and groove mounting 36. A' leaf spring 37 yield-'ingly fholdsf the plunger in a slightly upwardly sloping position. The tonguejandgroove joint Sti-has a square bearing at its upper 'as' is best shown in"Fig. 8. rI hisportion, bearingserves as g a stop to limit the upward slope of the plunger produced bythe spring 3i-This Lkupward slope is of advantage in preventing a tendency of the plunger' to slide` under the coin or slug as itV ac t-uates The lower corner of the tongue' l34 anddasupport for the actuating elements connecting the plunger 32, with the solenoid 33.V These elements include a vertical rack 40, which is also mounted in a y runway in the member 43, and is connected n The tube has av closed upper end and a lower flared end at its upper end kto the Icore of the'solenoid 33. A pinion' 4lisengaged by the rack 4 0,

the-,pinion lbeing rigidly Ymounted upon one 4endl of a stud shaft 42. This shaft is jouryslotted for mounting on a supporting member 65, by'means of screws 46. `Operation of the plungeris accomplished by` a stem 48 which projects through the housing and is ,providedwith ,a push button 50 mounted on its outerend. A spring l5l normally maintains the plungerv 44 in the osition shown `inFig..6',*1n which position thev lowerymost'coin inthe tube 28 rests in a recess 49 formed on the outer end of the bar 45. Uponl pushing the plunger to the left against the resiliency of thespring 51 the coin isl ses carried through a slot 53 in the wall ofthe i tube 28, and dropped into the conduit 23, whence it travels down int-o the 'signaling `apparatus of the tele-phone (not shown).

Upon release of the lpressure, on the button ,j 50, the spring 51 pulls the plunger back to its normal position where it receives the following slug in the recess 49.

An alternative actuating means connects the plungerk 32 with the solenoid, 33, as shown in 6, wherein the plu`nger`32 is mounted upon a slotted bar 54. The Ybar 54 is mounted upon a supporting member 55 by the screws l56 which project through the slots and'permit the bar tofbe reciprocated o lby abell crank lever 57. kOne arm ofthe lever 57 is positioned between lugs 58,'which are shown in detailin Fig. 8.: Theother arm ofthe lever 57 is connected by the bolt 59 to the' core 60 of the solenoid. The

`threaded end of the b olt 59 projects through anopening in al laterally 'extending lug 61 with thelock nuts 62 spaced at suliicientdistance that the bolt has gained some ymomentum'in its upward movement before the nuts strike the lug. A pin 63 on the bolt 59 moves the lever 57 back to its initial position.

A pair ot conductors 64 are connected to the solenoid 33 and to a source of electrical supply 69, with a switch 70 operable to open and close the circuit. The switch 70 is preferably operated by pushing buttons which may be placed at any convenient point or points where they are accessible to the party in control of the phone, as for eX- ample, the cashier in a hotel, drug store and other places where public telephones are installed.

The party desiring to use the telephone can only do so by consent. of the party in charge who, instead ot delivering a slug to Y the would be user `of the phone, presses the button which en-ergizes the solenoid by closing the circuit through the conductors 64. This causes the core ot the solenoid to rise carrying with it the bolt 59. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the racks and pinions are thereby moved to force the plunger 32 to the right and to deliver a coin or slug into the tube 28, where it is available to the user who has purchased the right to use it, and canl do so by actuating the manually operable plunger 44. Upon opening the circuit the core drops back and moves the rack and pinions in the opposite direction carrying with them the plunger 32 to its initial position where it is available for delivery of the following coin or slug. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the bolt opcrates the bell crank lever and the plunger in the same way, the bolt having gained some momentum before the lever is actuated by contact with the lock nuts 62 in its upward movement and with the pin 63 in its downward movement, whereby the plunger is started rapidly and the retarding effects ot' friction are minimized.

lIhus it will be seen that we have provided a c'oin or slug delivering device which prevents th'e use oit a telephone or similar device by unauthorized persons, or the use of spurious coins or slugs therein and eliminates any possibility of the person responsible for the telephone being defrauded by the users.

We claim:

l. In a device of the class described, the combination of a closed receptacle having two compartments for coins, means for retaining a supply of coins in one compartment, electrical means for delivering one of said coins into the other compartment, manually operated means for ejecting said coin from the last mentioned compartment, and means for operating said electrical means from a distance.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination ot a closed receptacle having two compartments tor coins, means for retaining a supply of coins in one'compartment, a plunger operable for delivering one of said coins into the other compartment, manually operated means for ejecting said coin from the last mentioned compartment into the signaling apparatus of a telephone, and means for actuating said plunger which positioned so as to be inaccessibleto a person actuating said manually operated means.

3. A telephone attachment of the class described, comprising a closed receptacle having two compartments for coins, means for retaining a supply of coins in one compartment. electrical means operable to deliver one ot said coins into the other compartment, said means being inaccessible for operation by the user of the telephone, manually voperated means accessible to the user for ejecting said coin from the last mentioned compartment into the signaling apparatus of the telephone, and means for operating said electrical means from a distance.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a closed receptacle having two compartments for coins, means for retaining a supply of coins in one compartment, electrical means for delivering one of said coins into the other compartment, comprising a solenoid, a reciprocating plunger adapted to engage a. coin in one of said compartments and to carry and deposit the coin in the other of the compartments, and elements connecting said plunger with said solenoid, whereby energizing of the solenoid moves the plunger in one direction and deenergizing of the solenoid moves the plun er in the opposite direction, manually opera le means for ejecting said coin from the last mentioned compartment into the signaling apparatus of a telephone and means for energizing said solenoid positioned so as to be inaccessible to a person actuating said manually operated means.

Signed at Chicago, Ill., this 27th day of J une, 1924.

JOHN LANG. FRANK S. PILARSKI. 

